A suburban Chicago woman faces felony charges after she allegedly shoved her 3-year-old nephew into Lake Michigan and did nothing to save the boy, who was rescued by firefighters but is not expected to survive, officials said.
Victoria Moreno, 34, of Des Plaines, Illinois, was charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery to a child under the age of 13 causing permanent disability, police said Wednesday.
Sources told CBS Chicago the boy struggled for nearly 20 minutes before he was rescued by Fire Department divers.
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Susanna Ortiz denied bail for Moreno during a Wednesday bond hearing, despite defense arguments that she suffers from mental issues. Ortiz called Moreno’s alleged actions “intentionally brutal and heinous,” the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Prosecutors said Wednesday that 3-year-old Josiah Brown was pushed Monday afternoon into Lake Michigan by his “beloved aunt” who then stood by as he sank to the lake bottom off Chicago’s Navy Pier, where divers found him a half-hour later.
The boy went into cardiac arrest and was rushed to Lurie Children’s Hospital in “very critical condition,” officials said. Prosecutors said Wednesday that he is not expected to survive.
A woman who was at Navy Pier and witnessed the incident, Ashton King, told CBS Chicago she saw the boy floating and immediately jumped into action while the aunt allegedly stood by and watched.
The child’s grandfather, Dan Brown, told WLS-TV on Tuesday that the family needs “a lot of prayer right now.”
“Everybody’s prayer helps,” Brown said. “God makes things happen. That’s what we are banking on right now.”
